Tribute to Mum
As many if you know I like to talk, too much, too often and too loudly some would say. As a Methodist Minister words are what I use most, written words and spoken words; and yet as I come to use words to talk about Mum I find them totally inadequate, how do you sum up the wonderful, generous and loving lady whose life we are here to celebrate and give thanks for with mere words? Yet words are all I have, and I make this tribute knowing it is wholly inadequate.
My earliest memories of my Mum always involve her kindness and love: my brother and I honestly could not have had a better Mum. She always wanted the very best for us, whether that was the food we enjoyed, the toys we played with of the clothes we wore. Admittedly, when looking at old photos of when I was young I cringe at some of the clothes, but Mum assured me they were very fashionable and that dressing my brother and I in the same outfits was the done thing. She wanted the very best for us and made sure we had it.
I have so many memories of growing up and of Mum's influence in my life that it's hard to pick any out. One thing that does stick in my mind is that she taught us that from wrong and impeccable manners. My brother and I always knew how to behave properly in a restaurant or hotel dining room, something sadly lacking in many children today who shout and run around in restaurants. My Mum was a true lady and wanted to bring up true gentlemen.
I remember once on a family holiday that we were looking for somewhere to have lunch and everywhere was full. We eventually decided on fish and chips and to my Mum's horror we made her eat them out of the newspaper as we walked down the street. She was not amused! It was a bit like the time when we had a caravan and my Dad put the milk on the table in a bottle for breakfast. It was swiftly removed and the milk returned in a jug.
I can't think of Mum without thinking about Christmas. She loved Christmas. It was her favourite time of the year and a time when she thought family should be together. When my brother and I were children we had Christmas Day with Mum and Dad and there were always more Christmas presents than we were expecting and the best Christmas Dinner in the world! Boxing Day often involved the whole of my Mum's family with Aunties, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents all enjoying more delicious food and each other's company.
As we left home and got married Mum would always spend Christmas with either myself, Sue and Alice; or Michael, Hayley and Elizabeth. These were special times for all of us.
Other special times were family holidays. I've already mentioned the fish and chips incident but I have so many happy memories of family holidays. We went to Jersey several times as a family and the Isle of Man twice. We also went to Ibiza, Formentera and Tenerife! We also explored a lot of Britain as well, most of which I enjoyed, although I'll be perfectly content never to set foot in a Stately Home again.
My Mum and Dad together made me the person I am today. Well, I'll credit them for all that is good about me, the rest is entirely my own fault!
In particular, if it wasn't for Mum I wouldn't be a Methodist Minister today. From an early and she insisted I went to Sunday School and encouraged me as a teenager to be confirmed. She prayed for me during the time I lost interest in Christianity around my early thirties and I'm sure it's due to her prayers and gentle challenges that I can back to my faith. When I was accredited as a Local Preacher I didn't think I could do anything to make Mum more proud: but she was bursting with pride last June when she attended my ordination service in Coventry, telling anyone who was prepared to listen how proud she was of me.
That pride, if course, extended to my brother for all that he has achieved on his life, it was evident on both our wedding days and, particularly when her grandchildren were born. It can be truly said that Mum was the best mother Michael and I could have had and she was also a fantastic grandma to Alice and Elizabeth: spoiling them rotten, which she said was a grandma's privilege and taking an interest in everything they did.
It goes without saying that Mum was devastated when Dad passed away last March and missed him terribly; yet she determined to get on with life and to continue to be the loving Mum and Grandma she has always been. She had plans to sell her house and move to a flat in Poulton, but in March this year was told she had terminal cancer.
I think she took the news far better than I did and faced the cancer with courage and determination, determined to make the best of whatever life she had left but also confident in her eternal destiny. She had an absolutely firm conviction in the reality of the eternal life promised by Jesus and the fact that she would be reunited with my Dad in heaven. She told me she knew where she was going, but that she'd rather stay with us for a few more years yet. Sadly it was not to be and she slipped away very peacefully at lunchtime on 20th May with her family around her, just as she wanted.
Mum, I will never forget you and I will always love you. You are the best Mum anybody could have had.
No comments:
Post a Comment